Safety-catch for elevators.



No. 884,908; 'y l PATBNTBD APR.14,11908.

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N. 884,908. l PTENTED APR. 14, 1908.

v W. A. DORSEY.

SAFETY'CTGH FOR BLEVATRS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-28.1907.'

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UNiTED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

WALTER A. DORSEY, OF LIBERTY, WEST VIRGINIA.

SAFETY-CATCH FOR ELEVATORS.

A No. 884,908.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WALTER A. DORSEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Liberty, in the county of Putnam, State of West Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Catches forElevators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to safety catches for elevators and has for itsobject to provide a device of this nature which will positively lock anelevator car, to which it is applied, should the car, by accident, startto fall.

The invention, broadly speaking, resides in the provision of springactuated detents, means for holding the detents in inoperative position,and a slack rope connected with the said holding means to release thesaine from yengagement from the detents when the weight of the car isthrown upon the said rope by the breaking of the hoisting cables,thereby permitting the said detents to engage suitable rack elementsformed on the elevator guide.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional viewthrough a portion of an elevator car showing one embodiment of thedevice applied thereto, the various elements forming my device beingshown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a similar view in detail of one side ofthe car only and showing the position of the detents when the same arereleased. Fig. 3 is a detail view in elevation of one of the elevatorslides removed from its casing in the car, parts being broken away. Fig.4 is a similar view showing a slightly modified form of holding meansfor the form of detent shown in the foregoing figures. Fig. 5 is a view'similar to Fig. 2.

showing a still further modification of the invention, the detent beingshown, however, out of engagement with the guides. Fig. 6 is a similarview, partly in section, showing the same released, to engage the guide,and, Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the detent block.

In the several figures of the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes anelevator car of the ordinary construction, 11 the slides for the carwhich are inclosed in asuitable casing 12, and l13 the guides upon whichthe slides trave The reference numeral 14 denotes thev Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed. March 28, 1907.

Patented April 14, 1908.

Serial No. 365,112.

bridge to which the hoisting'cables 15 for the car are secured and uponthe bridge adjacent its ends are journaled pulleys 16 and at its middle,pulley 17. A slack rope 18 has attached to it branch ropes 19 whichextend over the pulleys 16 yto detents which will be hereinafterdescribed. The slack rope 18 extends together with the hoisting cables15 to the usual winding drum, (not shown) and is wound around the sametogether with the said cables, thereby maintaining a uniform tension.

The form of detent shown in the first four figures of the drawings comrises a plate 19 which is provided at each o its sides and at its lowerportion with a flange 2O which flanges lie upon opposite sides of therespective slide and through which and the said slide is engaged a pivotpin 21, the said plate being bent outwardly at an angie from the slideat its flanged portion as at 22. Each of the fianges is provided uponits outer edge and adjacent its lower end with a downwardly directedfinger 23 which is designed for engagement with the rack elementsof' theguide used in connection with this form of the invention.

. The rack elements above mentioned are in the form of pins 24 whichproject from opposite sides of the said guides and the fingers 23 arebent slightly laterally as shown in Fig.l 3 to permit ready movementinto engagement with the said pins when it becomes necessary. To eXert atension on the detent in the direction of the guides, I rovide a spring25 which is bent upon itsef at opposite sides of its middle to form aconnecting portion which bears against the portion 22 of the detents andspaced portions 26V To hold thek detent normally out of enf gagementwith the rack elements, I provide a s iding bolt 28 which is normallyheld with one of its ends in engagement with the upper end of the bodyportion of the respective detent plate by means of a spring 29 which,together with the bolt 28 is mounted in a housing 30. The bolt 28 uponeach of the slides is provided at its upper end with an eye for theattachment of the end of the res ective branch ropes 19 whereby the saidbo ts may be disengaged from their related detents.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, the bolt and its related parts are eliminatedand a spring yoke 3l is substituted therefor, the said yoke beingsecured at its ends to the sides of the slides in position to bearagainst the body portion of the detent plate and being rvided in itsconnecting portion with a Ioop 32 for the attachment of the branch ropes19.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6 I provide a slottedslide member 11a and pivotally mount in the slot therein a detent 33which is in the form of a block having formed upon its edge adjacent theguides 34 for the car, a finger 35 which is directed downwardly andoutwardly from the said edge of the block and adjacent the lower endthereof, for engagement with the rack elements of the guides 34 which,in this case, are in the form of rack teeth 36.

In order to normally force the detent in the direction of the guides Iprovide a spring 37 which is seated in a groove 3S formed in one of theside faces of the detent and which is bent around the pivot pin for thesaid detent and secured at its end to the rear side thereof as at 39. Inorder that the detents may be normally held out of engagement with theirguides 34, I provide a second block 40 which is also pivoted in the slotin the slide and above the detent 33, the said block being provided, inits edge opposing the upper end of the detent, with a notch forming atooth 41 which, when the detent is out of engagement with the rack teeth36, seats in a notch 42 formed in the inner edge face of the detent 33,a spring 43, which is seated in a recess 44 formed in the outer face ofthe slide, serving to hold it normally in this osition. Each of theblocks 40 is provide( with an opening 45 for the attachment of thebranch ropes which lead from the slack rope 19.

To brace the detents against the shock caused by their sudden engagementwith the rack teeth 36 I provide a plate 46 which is secured to theinner edge of each of the detent blocks 33 and bears against theadjacent faces of the respective slides at each side of the slot thereinwhen the said detents are in the above described position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that in case the hoisting cablesbreak, the entire weight of the car will be thrown upon the slackropeand its branch ropes, thereby disengaging the holding elements of eitherform of the invention from their respective detents and allowing thesame to spring into engagement with the rack elements ofthe slides forthe car to stop the same, as will he readily understood.

What is claimed is:

l. In a safety device for elevators, the combination with the slides ofan elevator ear and the rack guides therefor, of d etents carried by theslides, said detents comprising each a body portion formed with spacedside portions extending one upon each side of said slide aspring-controlled latch carried by each of said slides and normallyengaged with the upper end of the body of the respective dctent, thesaid side portions of each detent being formed with fingers adapted forengagement with the rack guides, the said latches serving to hold thedetents normally out of such engagement, and a slack rope havingbranches connected. to the latches.

2. In a safety device for elevators, the combination with the slides ofthe elevator car and the rack guides therefor, of detents comprisingeach a body portion and spaced side portions which extend upon oppositesides of the slides, a pivot bolt passed through the said side portionsand through the slides, said detents being designed to rock upon theslides and having the vertical edges of their spaced portions formedwith. lingers which are extended from the said edges and are curvedlaterally in a direction from the corresponding sides ofthe slide, aspring tending to force said detents into engagement with said rackguides, latches normally engaged. with said d etents for holding thesame out of such engagement with the rack guides, and a slack ropehaving branches connected with said latches whereby a pull upon saidrope will move said latches from such engagement with said detents.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

IVALTER A. ,DORSF Witnesses z W. F. CARNEY, J. A. CARNEY.

